Twitter is experimenting with a new feature for iPhones that shows the number of people viewing a user's published tweet.
Twitter, the popular micro-blogging website, is experimenting with a new feature that will show users if their published tweets go unnoticed or actually grab a lot of attention. The usual way to find out if the tweet is popular is by getting "favorite" and "retweet" notifications, but the new entry of total views will show how many followers actually read your tweet, regardless of taking any actions. The feature, first spotted by The Verge through a Twitter user, is only available to a select group using iOS devices.
Being a part of Twitter's continuous redesign, the new feature may or may not be available to a wider audience, which depends on the success of the experiment. With this integration, Twitter aims at increasing user-engagement with the social media site. The number of views for a tweet can boost users' confidence and encourage them to tweet more, The Verge reports.
On the downside, the view count can also have an adverse effect on users. For Twitter users with 1,000 or more followers, getting only 10-20 views for a tweet can be discouraging and might lead to lesser postings. The Verge sees this as a possible reason for Twitter to abandon the feature.
Twitter user @latinaturner3 spotted the feature on her iPhone app and shared it on her timeline. She shared her view about the new feature in a statement to The Verge saying, "That just gives me anxiety now. Like, 'Oh, well that tweet sucked. It got zero views. I'm just going to step into traffic."
wait. now you can see how many times your tweets have been viewed? this is going to bring my anxiety to a "Lena Dunham" level.
- Lydia J (@Latina_Turner_3) March 21, 2014
@ChrisDca current tally is 304! crazy... - Lydia J (@Latina_Turner_3) March 22, 2014
Twitter recently celebrated its eight birthday by launching "first tweets." It helped users find their first tweet on the social networking site. The company also kicked off its ninth year in business by announcing the withdrawal of a year-old #music app from App Stores and finally pulling the plug this April 18.